Bryan
Lee & the Jump Street FiveThe
following article was conceived, edited & outlined by Leon Tsilis
& written with love
by the Late, Great "Ann (Coyote Red) Bixby" for Skymarshall
Productions.

Despite
the twin handicaps of being white and from the Midwest, Bryan Lee was born
with the blues in his soul. That event occurred in Two Rivers, Wisconsin,
in 1943. Lee's eyes were damaged at birth, and he was completely blind by
the time that he was eight years old. That didn't stop his musical education.
Presented with a guitar as a gift from his mother, he became a diehard blues
fan as he woodshedded along with tunes he heard on the radio at night.

By the time he was eleven or twelve, he was staying up most of the night
(and sleeping through school the next day) to listen to WLAC out of Nashville.
He ordered records from the station, and practiced along with them, too.
By the time he was thirteen, Lee was good enough to play in bands with older
musicians. In high school he worked with local cover bands, and later began
fronting his own group doing one-nighters throughout the Midwest.

After school, Lee's burgeoning career took him to Washington state, Milwaukee,
and Chicago, but New Orleans was always his spiritual home. After a 20-year
road odyssey, he finally made it to the Crescent City in 1982, exchanging
second-hand New Orleans blues for the real thing  Bourbon Street.

Lee
formed his Jump Street Five, and began working at the Old Absinthe House
in the heart of the fabled French Quarter on March 16, 1983 (his birthday).
Playing five nights a week for the next 14 years, they built a loyal following
of blues lovers in the intimate, dimly-lit room. Such music luminaries as
Eric Clapton, Johnny Winter, Sting, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and James Cotton
dropped in at various times over the years to jam with Bryan. The band has
appeared at the Jazz and Heritage Festival since the early 1980's, and has
inspired critical raves at the Montreal Jazz Festival as well. The director/producer
of the Jazz and Heritage Festival, Quint Davis, called Lee and his band
"one of the greatest blues institutions that New Orleans has ever known."

In
1991, representatives from Justin Time Records dropped by the Old Absinthe
House bar to check out the music. As Bryan recalls, "There was a seminar
down here of independent record companies and, of course, after the meetings
everybody went out and walked around the French Quarter. Bourbon Street
still holds that mystique for a lot of people. Anyway, the folks from Justin
Time were walking down Bourbon Street, heard me playing, came in the club,
and were just really knocked out. A lot of people have approached me in
the club about recording, but these were the only ones who called me when
they said they were going to call me." Bryan debuted on Justin Time
with 1991's "The Blues Is ...". He followed that up with "Memphis
Bound" (1993), "Braille Blues Daddy" (1994), and "Heat
Seeking Missile" (1995).

Unfortunately, the current owner of the historic Old Absinthe House has
opted to lease the space out for conversion to a pizza and daiquiri pub
with a Hawaiian theme, complete with plastic hula girls on the bar and thatched
rooves over each table. Lee is understandably upset about losing the connection
to his old stomping grounds.

"Here's
a historical building that's been open since 1806 being turned into some
kind of theme bar to attract tourists," he says. "There were all
kinds of historic artifacts in the place. Back in the 1800s, sailors would
leave money up on the wall with their names on it because they didn't know
if they would have any money when they returned. There are business cards
from people who challenged other people to duels. All kinds of characters
drank in that bar. Andrew Jackson drank there, Jean Lafitte drank there.
W.C. Fields left a walking cane there. Mae West left a pair of her panties
there. There's a rich legacy connected to that place, and now its gone.
They came in with jackhammers, chopped up the bar, the floor, everything.
It's sacrilege. For me, it hurts because I helped build that business."

Since
the closing of the Old Absinthe House Bar, Bryan Lee and his Jump Street
Five have relocated to the Tropical Isle, down the block on Bourbon Street,
where they can be heard Wednesday through Sunday. They are also gearing
up for a nationwide tour in support of their most recent album, "Live
At The Old Absinthe House Bar ... Friday Night." "I think my
playing has gotten better," says Lee, consistent work always makes
you stronger." As a result, to borrow from one of Lee's own lyrics,"The
blues IS Bryan Lee and the Jump Street Five".